Have a say on fast track bid for fracking

Digital reporter

Anti-fracking campaigners have urged people to have a say on Government plans to take decisions on shale gas drilling bids away from local authorities.

The government has launched two consultations to fast-track fracking bids.

People have until October 25 to take part.

One proposal is to allow shale gas exploration schemes to go-ahead without the need for a planning application by making them “permitted development.”

The second is to treat full shale gas production projects as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects which would take them out of local authority control and hand decisions to the Secretary of State.

Daniel Carey-Dawes, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England said: “These proposals would be a complete perversion of the planning system and trample over the rights of communities.”

Barbara Richardson, from Roseacre, said: “This a desperate attempt by the government to forge ahead with its own agenda to frack for shale gas in England. It is a full on assault on local democracy.”

Ken Cronin from gas industry body UKOOG, said some decisions had taken more than a year, leaving communities in limbo and councils under-resourced.